A Brief Description about the WARP Summit

The WARP Summit is an international summit held in Seoul, South Korea on September 2014. The summit consisted of politicians, religious leaders, young adult and women leaders, and the press. The aim of the summit is to unite under the banner of peace through discussing an international law that would end all wars and creating harmony among different religions. Chairman Man Hee Lee mentioned that the religions, which should set an example by keeping peace, have been the cause for majority of conflicts in the history of mankind. Chairman Man Hee Lee started to think about peace, when he served as a soldier in the forefront during the Korean War. As he watched his comrades fall in the battlefield, he experienced in attrocities of war and understood the experience of peace. The mircale of WARP Summit 2014, in which the participants from different backround agreed to the importance of world peace, was continued by numerous World Peace Tours of HWPL in various countries. On September 2015, the WARP Summit celebrated its first anniversary as leaders were invited from all over world to discuss the practical solution towards world peace and unification of religions.

Peace Quote: John F. Kennedy

“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.”  -John F. Kennedy

Since the WARP Summit, Chairman Man Hee Lee has been travelling around the world with his message and vision of peace. These trips are not just a simple visit to a nation or a certain figure. His visit is to gather more advocates of peace. He is meeting people to alert the importance of peace. Just as President Kennedy explains, Chairman Man Hee Lee is changing the opinions of people, which were created by simple differences that ignored the greater similarities of opposing groups. He also has been slowly breaking the barriers that once divided a nation or a group. This is truly remarkable. I believe this daily, weekly, monthly process will trigger the awareness of world peace in the global community. This will eventually result world peace, with HWPL as the center and the moderator. 

Peace Quote: Dale Carnegie

If half a century of living has taught me anything at all, it has taught me that nothing can bring you peace but yourself. - Dale Carnegie

The life experience of Dale Carneige teaches us that peace begins only with person. And peace is only possible people gathering together for one cause. It is not possible, when there is resistance, because this will leave a cut in the peace work. Peace must be achieved without resistance or conflict. Peace that is achieve through force is not peace, but forced quietness. Peace is something that must be understood by each individual through awareness. This work I believe is being completed by Chairman Man Hee Lee and the international peace organization HWPL.

Peace Quote: Mother Teresa

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."


We have to always remember that we are one. Although we may look different outwardly, we are one family living in a home called the Earth. The message of Chairman Man Hee Lee reminds us today how similar we are. Wars and conflicts happen because we are not able to reach an agreement or resolve such difference with words and understanding. Chairman Man Hee Lee showed through the resolution in Mindanao that agreement is possible without war. Physical war will only cause sufferings on the both conflicting parties. I am excited to see the further steps that Chairman Lee will take in order to achieve world peace and how he would apply the quote of Mother Teresa in his messages.

Say "Peace" in different languages

The link below provides the translation of the word "peace" in the languages of the world. For some languages it may not be the direct translation of the word or the word may have a different meaning. This difference may arise from the different culture and background. It would be interesting to see the origins of these words and compare their meaning to see if they mean the same. In a broader sense, we all have our own definition of peace, but we can all agree that it is a state without war.

On the other hand, some languages may share a similar origin. Even if the words do not match exactly the same, they might share the same mother language. Sadly the nations, who may share such original word are suffering from conflicts and wars. They are not able to recognize similarity that they share and they conflict over differences. I hope that there will be a day in the future, where we are able to greet each other in the name of peace. This is truly possible in HWPL as it is gathering more organizations to join its membership. These organization are not of the same country, but of multiple countries. HWPL holds them together in the name of peace. And under the direction of Chairman Man Hee Lee, they walk in the same path towards a destination.

Link: http://www.columbia.edu/~fdc/pace/

Your own definition of peace

A world that you dream of...

We all have our own fantasy and dream. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a world, where all men are treated equal. His dream became reality, after countless amount of efforts. It is true that weak or strong racism still exists in our daily life. It is natural due to the differences that we have. Though there was a time in history, when segregation was considered normal, people sought to make a better world, because they recognized the difference and unfairness. This movement did not happen in only one country, but in different countries. There were no international movement that grouped these national-based movements together. It happened, because it would lead the humanity into a better direction. Finally, a law was created to integrate and make racism illegal. The dream of Martin Luther King Jr. came true and still continues to be achieved today, as the world sees less racial segregation.

Today, we fight for many different causes. Among them is the HWPL peace movement. This is slightly broader than the dream of Dr. King. The peace movement includes overcoming racial, ideological, and religious differences. In some ways, these conflicts are considered normal because it is because of difference. We need to start working towards the dream. We all need to become like Martin Luther King Jr. in our own community or like Chairman Man Hee Lee to make this world a better place, which is place no segregation exists. We all need to accept everyone is different and it is normal to be different. If conflict arises every time due to a minor difference, then these conflicts will never end until everyone dies.

In order to stop this, we must work together. We must create law that will regulate these conflicts. In the beginning it will be hard. And even after many months and years, conflicts may still exist. However, there will be a progress. Just like the integration in United States still continues to overcome racism. These are small steps that are taken to a large and big destination. 

What is a world that you dream of? What is your definition of peace? We all have our definition of peace. We all have a place that we dream of or an occupation that we wanted. What is a peaceful world to you? If you have time to write few lines under the comment section, feel free to share your idea and definition of peace. Is it a world without war? Is it a world with something you love?

I think we would all agree that this world of peace is a place where we are able to share with the people that we love.

Event for the separated family of North and South Korea

The 1945 independence of the Korean peninsula brought joy and sadness at the same time. Some family had to separate, because of their ideological differences. After the Korean War in 1950, there were more separated family in the peninsula. If the separation caused by the division of the two governments in 1945 was by choice, the separation caused by the 1950 Korean War was a reluctant choice.

After six decades the Korean peninsula is still divided into two different government, in which separated families still exist, but now along with their future generations. It is unfortunate that after the first generation of the separated families pass away, their descendants would not be able to find their opposite half on the other side of the 38 parallel line without organizing the complicated family trees of both Korea.

This October, an event was hosted in a North Korean hotel for the separated families. There will be 90 families in this event, who will reunited with their families in three meeting with the total of six hours.

Currently, Koreans are the only people, who were not able to see reunification. There is hope with the activities of the HWPL and Chairman Man Hee Lee, who are working towards bringing peace to the Korean peninsula. I hope that the two Koreas would be able to take another step towards each other, before it is too late.

Bringing unification to Korea would be a great contribution to the work of world peace. Korea will now join other countries, who overcame the separation, to show the world that we can be one.

Film: The Kingdom of Heaven

The name "Jerusalem" means "The City of Peace". However, we are not able to see peace in Jerusalem. Instead we see conflict and division in Jerusalem. The film, "The Kingdom of Heaven" centers in Jerusalem. Balian, a blacksmith in France, follows his father's footsteps to travel to Jerusalem during the Crusades.

The City of Jerusalem in the beginning of the film, when it was reigned by King Baldwin IV, is shared by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. They are able to live in harmony because of the King and the Sultan. Some minor quarrels may happen, but these dispute eventually found justice according to agreement of these two parties. This somewhat peace between the Christians and the Muslim changes as the King dies and he is succeeded by a man, who is greedy for power and authority. Eventually Christians and Muslims face each other in the battle with each party firmly believing that God or Allah will bring victory to their side.

At that time, Jerusalem has many meanings to individuals. Many people traveled to Jerusalem with The Crusades to find a new life. However, they only found the same world in their Holy Land. This is no different than Jerusalem of today. In addition to the battle scenes, the film left its viewers with many different quotes that discussed one's being and his relation to God and the relationship between the two religions. The message that the film carried was deeper in comparison with other films produced by the director, Ridley Scott.

The protagonist of the film travels to Jerusalem and he struggles to find peace within himself through his reconciliation with God and his obligation to his duty in the setting, where religious harmony was at risk. As different characters starting with his father, the Muslim general that he spared, and the royalties shared their insights of faith and knowledge, we see the hero, who is reluctant to be treated as such, start to find his own place and destiny in the crisis between the two religions.

The film seems to question and show, "what can a man do in the midst of these conflict?". This question especially applies to the world that we live in today. The question is not limited to those in Jerusalem today, but to the people who live in the area where conflicts exist. We ask ourselves, "What can a man or a woman like me do against this mass conflict?" This was the same question that the Bishop of Jerusalem asked as he saw Bailian knighted each solider before the battle to defend Jerusalem against the Saracens.

"Who do you think you are? Will you alter the world? Does making a man a knight make him a better fighter?"

These men and soldiers of Jerusalem, who were considered as peasants with no influence, eventually succeeds defending Jerusalem and fulfilling their duty. They were ordinary men, who ended up defending the city because all the soldiers died in the initial battle with the Saracens. Most of us in the world are regular and ordinary citizens of the nation we live in. However, with the right heart, we are able to alter the world. It will make us a better fighter, an advocate for peace. One may say world peace is impossible, but it would only take one step away from being possible as each individual doubts its possibility. One of the quotes that Bailian's father, Godfrey talks about one's destiny.

"You are not what you were born, but what you have it in yourself to be."

Our destiny does not depend on where we are born into, but what we are able to bring out from ourselves. It depends on our ability to push our limit. This idea is exemplified by Chairman Man Hee Lee, who has been working as a peace advocate internationally. He is the example of what a single man can do in the midst of multiple conflicts in the world. I hope that the world will start to recognize the effort of Chairman Man Hee Lee and HWPL and join to cooperate and fulfill world peace together.

Pope Francis' visit to the United States

After visiting Cuba, Pope Francis visited United States to meeting with President Obama and on September 25th, Pope Francis spoke at the UN General Assembly. The pope, who has been receiving a great attention from the world for his messages, spoke about international conflict and war. As the fifth pope to visit the United Nation, I hope that the visit of Pope Francis will alert the international community of the importance of world peace. As conflicts and threats are increasing at this time such as the Civil War in Syria, it is imperative that leaders such as Pope Francis, current presidents, and leaders of UN to take action to solve for world peace.

As HWPL and Chairman Lee travels around the world and host dialogues to promote world peace, more people are recognizing and accepting the importance of world peace. I hope that the renowned political and religious leaders will support and lead the hopes of these people, so that world peace can be possible.

In his speech, Pope Francis talked about the constant effort to avoid war between nations and people. He mentioned the restless dedication of negotiation to reenact a law to prevent these conflicts. At the visit to the White House, the Pope supported President Obama's policy on environment. In his speech, he spent majority of his time also on environmental issues. He said, "Earth is the fruit of love from the Creator and mankind do not have the authority to ruin the environment."

This is true. Both war and environmental issues, such as pollution, will ruin the earth that the Creator created. We are not the Creator of this world, we only dwell in the world because it was given to us by the Creator. However, if we do not respect the world that we live in, what would the Creator think of us? It is rude to misbehave in someone's house or misplace their things, then how should we treat the world? The basic manner applies not only to a friend's house, but to this world.

WARP of 1st Commemoration

Finally, it is this week. The WARP of 1st Commemoration begins in few days. After the WARP Summit last year, HWPL has continued its effort to create harmony in the world. They have established WARP Offices and invited religious leaders of the community to participate in a discussion to compare their religion and reach to an agreement. Each peace dialogues ended with signing the peace agreement. Although it is a small act of signing a paper, its symbolism is enormous as this agreement is signed by many other religious leaders. These agreements will gather to create a larger unity in the world. The WARP of 1st Commemoration will become another giant step towards achieving the dream that we have longed for.

[Live coverage of WARP 1st Commemoration Broadcasting time]

■ September 18, 2015 ; 10:00~12:30 / 16:00~19:00

■ September 19, 2015 ; 9:00~12:00

■ Broadcasting link ☞ https://goo.gl/MDGjE2

The 3rd G.O.D Awards in New York

Last month in New York, a ceremony was held to celebrate the achievements of the people around the world in humanity. The "We Care for Humanity's 3rd Global Official of Dignity Awards" was hosted by Jacob Wheelr, Denise Cook, "The Oracle" and Princess Maria Amor. Many royalties and representatives from the business and academic and government official participated in this event. Among the recipient was Chairman Man Hee Lee and Chairwoman Nam Hee Kim, who received the Noble Man of the Year and the Noble Woman of the Year respectively. Although the Chairman was not able to participate in the event, it was a special moment, where the peace movement gained recognition. At the same time it was the event to witness how people worked to make the world a better place. Although we do not have the power to create, we have the power to work with one another to make this world a better world.

Poem: Here dead we lie

Recently, I took an interest in the poems of the First World War, because these poems captures the emotions and the thoughts of the soldiers. Through many speeches and messages, I have heard the horrific memories of Chairman Man Hee Lee in his participation of the Korean War. I wanted to compare his messages with the literature that expresses the emotions of the author in the quickest way. Some wrote about their assault against their enemies, but some talked about the tragedy from the battle.

After a short research, I was able to find out that A. E. Housman, the British author of the poem "Here dead we lie", actually did not participated in the First World War. However, by reading his poem, I was able to find connection with the agony that the Chairman described, when he saw countless numbers of war happening around the world. The poem only contains two whole sentences, but through these well-phrased sentences the author, an academic who never went to war, shares his point of view of the war with his readers. I wonder what experience motivated him to write this poem, even though he never experienced war. It is interesting how one is able to depict the tragedy in the war without participating.

The rhyming scheme of the poem is ABCD EBFD and the poem is written in quatrain, in which each stanza contains four lines. In the first stanza, the author uses first person plural to represent the soldiers (the speaker) as a whole about their death. In one perspective, it seems that the speaker is slightly ashamed to be alive. And he did not wish to shame the land that we born into. It sounded like he is rather happy to accept his death. It is definitely heroic to die for one's nation. This is truly a great honor. However, what purpose did they serve? The First World War only started because of greed. Wars are fought by young men, who have a future ahead of them. They may participate in wars for many reason. Regardless of these reasons, they have to sacrifice their lives. It seems like a regret of the choice that they made. We need to still leave a space to question, was their sacrifice necessary? This is what the speaker questions in the second stanza. However, to support their nation's interest, they participated in the war to defend their nations.

The second stanza also begins with the pride in their sacrifice for their country and the patriotism that they showed. Ironically, the poem ends "But the young men think it is and we were young." The young men may think that their sacrifice is a glorious deed. There may be nothing important in life. However, after many years, when the young men grow to older men, they would look back to regret that decision. Youth is when action comes first before thinking. There is more in life. The young men, at the time, may have thought it would be cowardly to run away from their military duty as soldiers, but the older generation looked at something greater. It was not only the pride and the honor of that short period, but it was life as a whole. In their moment of reflection of their last years, one may think about many different things. Did war bring happiness through the pride and honor that he received? The answer may vary depending on the individual, but from the author's perspective, there was too much to lose for the heroic struggle.

What can we learn from their experience? One may ask, perhaps it was the experience of war that led them to reflect back about their experience. There could have been a different ending if one actually did not participate in the war and choose to live. We were able to see the emotions and the thoughts of our veterans through their memoirs and writing. However, were we able to see writings of those who chose not to participate in the war? Not exactly, because wars were consistent in life. In did not allow the opportunity to not participate in wars. I hope that with Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration Life and Chairman Man Hee Lee, we will become that first generation that decided to not participate in war. Maybe 50 years later, we will see a poem, "Here we are alive:"

Here dead we lie by A. E. Housman

Here dead we lie

Because we did not choose

To live and shame the land

From which we sprung

Life, to be sure,

Is nothing much to lose

But young men think it is,

And we were young

Poem: In Flanders Field

The poem, "In Flanders Field" was written by John McCrae, who a Canadian physician Major John McCrae, who participated in the First World War. The major, who survived the Second Battle of Ypres in the Flanders region of Belgium (1915). After witnessing the death of his comrades and friend, Alexis Helmer, he began the poem by describing the poppies that quickly grew around the grave (crosses) of those who died.

The poem is about the tragedy caused by the battle and also war. The only things that are left in the field of the battle are the guns, which were used by the soldiers. The songs of the larks in the sky are only heard by the guns on earth. What could be the representation of the the larks in the sky against the guns on earth? The birds of the heaven sing the song and just as the dove represents peace, perhaps these larks were singing their message of peace, however, its songs were not heard because of the loud noises created by the guns. Likewise it is the will of the heaven and the Creator to see peace on the earth that he created. However, the efforts of the Creator and the will of heaven was only covered in the past history of the mankind with wars and conflicts. No messages of peace were heard and even if it did, it was not heard clearly and disappeared quickly. However, the world seems to change its attention towards Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an organization that is working towards peace so that the will of the heaven may be heard.

The men who fought in the battle were alive and each had family and friends, who they loved and who loved them back. However, they all lie together. It does not matter which side they belong. The numbers of the casualties only matter to decide the result of the war. However, they all return back to the earth as dust together. It does not change the fact for the both sides that the war took them away from their loved ones. I am not sure what the author meant, when he says "The torch; be yours to hold it high", however I hope that this bond and the faith created between those who are dead and those who are alive will serve a legacy that goes toward harmony. I hope that the torch is not a representation of destruction, but a symbol of harmony and goodwill as it is in the Olympic Games. The torch is carried throughout the world and is delivered to the location, where the games are hosted. Just as this, I hope that the torch marks the beginning of unity so that the souls of those who died in every war including the Second Battle of Ypres in the Flanders Field are able to rest and sleep peacefully.

In Flanders Field

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Film: Angels & Demons (Can a religion be flawless?)

"When you write of us and you will write of us. May I ask one thing? Do so gently. Religion is flawed, but only because man is flawed. All men. Including this one." 

This line is said by Cardinal Strauss from the film, "Angels & Demons". The fictional film suggests the conspiracy in the oldest Christian denomination, however, it also shows the humanistic side of the Church, which constitutes faith and theology. It shows the comprise between the religion and science. 

On the other hand, Cardinal Strauss' last word to Professor Langdon, who is portrayed by Tom Hanks, does not demote the meaning of religion, but promote its humility. It is definite that religion is the source to our communication with a god. People believe that religion is given and provided by the god, so that the creation can connect with god through rituals and doctrines. This religion, of course, is flawless when created by the Creator, who created this world. However, can a religion be corrupted? As we saw a different side of religion in the film, we also see that religion can be corrupted. It is not because the Creator is corrupted, but we, who participate in the religion, are flawless.

This is why scriptures were given to us, so that we may follow the will of the god, who we believe in. Currently, HWPL is establishing WARP Offices all over the world, so that representatives from different religions can participate in discussion to compare the scriptures to see the similarity inside these scriptures. This is the practical solution that Chairman Man Hee Lee offered, in order to see how much we know about the religious scripture. Then, we will be able to truly understand the will of the heaven and the Creator. Anything can be corrupted. This is why there is a proverb in Asia that one has to empty his or her cup. Anything that stays inside the cup will become corrupted eventually and this is why we need to fill in the new. The wave of HWPL and the peace movement led by Chairman Man Hee Lee will become that the new water that will clear the flaws in the religions to answer the questions, can religions be flawless?

Quote: Chairwoman Nam Hee Kim

"An era of end of war and world peace, which is something the mankind desired for many years, has finally arrived. Beginning with the Declaration of World Peace made by Chairman Lee in front of the Peace Gate in South Korea, the wave of world peace has reached all over the earth to bear the fruit of peace finally today. Chairman Lee has visited various placed over the globe only for peace and I was able to witness the miracle of peace most clearly. This moment is also being shown on live to the whole world and everyone's eyes and ears are focused on this place. What is the peace that you dream of? Could we say world peace is a peace only for your religion or nation? True world of peace is filled with life, where tears, pains, and death do not exist. This is the peace that the Creator wants to give."

The question of the Chairwoman asks us our world of peace. The question brings us back to reality. We all dream of a peaceful world. However, this is only a dream that is created by our subjective nature. It rotates around us. For example, a person, who is not wealthy may think of this peaceful world as a place, where everything is free. A peace is kept between the buyer and seller. We all may have our own version of a peaceful world or an utopia as a place that fills in what we lack. But let us think from the perspective of a Creator, who built this world. The Creator created this world according to his opinion. What if the world becomes unbalanced with his first version of the world? Due to the wars and conflict around the world, the original world becomes corrupted with its nature suffering from these corruption. What would the Creator want? Above all, he would want balance in nature and the return to the original world. This is what Chairman Man Hee Lee is doing. He understood the will of the Creator, who created the world in his vision. But the world was walking towards destruction.

When I was young, I used play with legos and using multiple pieces, I created my own world. When a piece is not in right place or when something becomes broken, naturally I would want to fix it and restore it back to its original place. This applies to the Creator, who created the world. However, we have to become the ones, who fulfill his will, because we are not the same as the lego piece. We are different, because there is life inside us.

Is there peace in religion?

What does religion teach about peace? We often wonder as we see the deeds of those who identifies themselves with a religion. Some may judge and assume the god of a particular religion by looking at their believers. It is true that religions were not the best example of pursuing and living their lives. In the history, there were times when religion was more corrupted than any other group of people. So does religion teach peace? What does religion say about peace?

Specifically, in the Roman Catholic Church, the idea of peace is embedded in their most important rite: The Mass. To a Catholic, mass is the mediator that connects the them to God. In mass, two parts sparked me. These are the Sign of Peace and Lamb of God, which is also known as "Agnus Dei".

The Sign of Peace is when the participants of the mass wishes one another peace by saying "Peace be with you". This blessing may apply to each individual in their personal lives as it was the what Jesus Christ greeted his disciples, who looked at the resurrected Christ in awe. The hymn, "Agnus Dei" has a similar message. However, instead of greeting and blessing others with peace, the believers ask for peace.

"Dona nobis pacem" (Grant us Peace)

In every mass, Agnus Dei has been sung. What is the meaning behind the lyrics of the hymn? Do we (as I come from a Catholic background) follow the lyrics of this hymn? Even in the Sing of Peace, we have repeated the words, "Peace be with you" so many times that it has become a meaningless greeting, although the idea of peace has been non-existence. There always have been wars that roamed and ruled the world. It was never an era of peace, when wars did not happen, but it was only a period of time waiting for another war to spark.

A religion mostly teaches about peace. Even though it was taught and people repeated the words about peace in every rite, no one truly thought about peace. I also never thought about world peace in a way that Chairman Lee explained. Until I heard Chairman Man Hee Lee's speech about world peace, a religion was an individual journey towards God. As we see in the Catholic mass, religion teaches about peace, but those who practice a particular religion does not fulfill peace. This is the time start thinking about what religion teaches about peace and fulfilling the teachings say about religion.

Jai guru deva. Om...

Jai guru deva. Om... This is a phrase that appears in the song, "Across the Universe" by The Beatles in Sanskrit. The song also makes an appearance in the film, "I am Sam" as its original soundtrack. The phrase, "Jai guru deva. Om" is a mantra, a form of spiritual prayer in Hinduism that can be translated as, "Victory or Glory to the divine god". (Guru dev was the teacher of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who The Beatles followed as their teacher). However, I noticed that some bloggers interpreted this phrase as, "Allow us enlightenment, O divine God",which I prefer more than the actual translation of phrase. Because of the spiritual influences of Hinduism to the members of The Beatles, this song explores the transcendental meditation, in which the members struggled to dwell as they attempt to walk away from other negative influences.

According to John Lennon, he began writing the lyrics during time when he was conflicting over his relationship with his wife, Cynthia. Most of the lyrics, I think, it is is spiritual state during his reflection and meditation. It explores how his world is moving through various states with mixed feelings through various metaphors, such as "pools of sorrow" and "wave of joy".

The first part of the song is about his spiritual state journeying across the universe. The word that becomes the center and the connector of the song is "Om". "Om" is an iconic word that represents the vibration of universe. Lennon's journey across the universe brings him to a different world, a state that can be reached through the divine support and consistent meditation with mantra. And although I do not want to presumptuous over the actual motive of song, I wish to believe that Lennon is fighting to keep the the world that he reached after this spiritual journey across the universe. This world includes the "sound of laughter" and the "shades of love" along with "limitless undying love". And yes, this could be referring to the woman he loves, but I think Lennon's thoughts on his personal struggle to keep his love and protect his world from changing can be extended to this world. Perhaps, this is why the song was used as the original soundtrack for the film, "I am Sam".

The film is about a struggle of a father, who has developmental disability, to retain his right as a parent for her daughter, who would soon be reaching an age that is older than he is mentally. His struggle to fight to keep his daughter is his struggle to protect his individual world from changing, because his daughter is his happiness and the one, who he loves without limit.

In my opinion, the songs of The Beatles are still loved by many listeners around the world even today, because most of their songs talks about a different world. Even from the title of the song, "Across the Universe" we are able to guess that this song will be looking at things big. Even if our conditions are not exactly the same as John Lennon, we are still able to relate to lyrics through our own experiences just like the producers of "I am Sam" did with the life of Sam. So, what kind of message does this message give to us today in our world?

Today, we have our own struggles. The world sees many different conflicts in between nations in different aspects and in between religions. We conflict with our neighbors because of minor differences. But we can reach to a better state. Just as Sam fights for his right to be with his daughter, our parents must fight so that they are able to keep their role as parents to their sons, who may had to join as a solider to face death. It is our journey, literally across the world to stop these struggles to join in unity and reach harmony. This must be the spiritual state of this universe. This is why Chairman Man Hee Lee is travelling around the world and meeting people, who are different than him, to ask them to join in this movement. To return the spiritual state of this world back to the divine creator. It is to fulfill the term, "Jai guru deva". We are not working for our own individual gods that we have created based on our culture and opinion, but we are working together for one creator, who created this world. It is impossible that all the gods of the world created the world that we live in. These gods are only a reflection of one true Creator.

The world that does not change is not the current state of this world, which is filled with struggles. It is the world that we must work to preserve in the future after reaching harmony. This world must see a change, but after its change, we should work to keep it, so that it won't return.

Looking two decades ahead...

Few hours ago, I read an article on The Kyunghyang Shinmun, one of the mainstream media in the Republic of Korea about a female student of the future, who was created in 1995 by. According to the article, her name is Eun Bee Ko. Twenty years ago, a research center in the Republic of Korea made various prediction about the future and published their works through Kyunghyang Shinmun's Magazine X, a page read by the younger generation at that time. "Eun Bee" was one of their creation and prediction. This year marks the target year that the researchers of that time picked to make their predictions. This branch of study is called futurology. Even though there were some exaggerated materials, I was able to recognize familiar objects with similar functions.

For her 20th birthday (2015), Eun Bee supposedly receives a device called PCS, which is an acronym for Personal Communication Service that has the same functions as a smartphone. Through this device, Eun Bee is able to receive personal messages and the device also comes with various application software like "personal fashion system" that gives suggestion for clothes to wear depending on the weather and her interest. Although the terms are different, I was able to see that the generation twenty years, who in the present day would mostly be adults, thought and imagined about things, which would create the culture today.

I guess every generation has a common interest on future. I do not imagine that the issue and the interest among the young generation twenty years ago would be different than the young generation today. Occasionally, I imagine the future world, when I think about my personal future and also whenever I watch films about future, which are usually about a dystopian world. Sometime, I do agree that these types of films have huge effect over our impression about future.

Some of the predictions are incorrect, but some predictions turned out to be true. Even though their imagination did not come true completely, I think if we are able to maintain a healthy culture, just like the heavenly culture, I believe that this mentality will be reflected in the later years. I would like to imagine where the spirit of the heavenly culture and the work for world peace will bring us twenty years from now on. Dr. Ian Pearson, a futurologist, says that "Anyone can predict stuff, but only a few get it right." But, also I think we also hold the key to the future, because the prediction will follow the trend of how this world flows. If these futurologists or anyone, who gains an interest to make a prediction about the future, they will look at the trend of the world and how it is reflected over culture. 

When they see continuous wars and films about the end of the war, they will probably predict something similar in that direction. But, what if they start seeing movements of peace and see films about peace winning awards and gaining the most viewers and fans, even before they make that their prediction, I think I would be more excited to see a different world, when wars would only be a fantasy in my dream, while peace will become a reality. What kind of world do you see twenty years later? What kind of world do you think is being created through the peace movement of HWPL and Chairman Man Hee Lee?

Arirang of Peace

Arirang is a traditional folk song of Korea and there are many different versions of Arirang with similar lyrics. The music played in the video clip is a mob performance at a traditional district in Seoul, Korea. The lyrics is about a separation of two lover and its lyrics is portrayed sadly through the tune and the melody of the song. At the WARP Summit, the performers showed a slightly different rendition of Arirang. In the same tune, they added a deeper lyrics to hope for a better world. It talks about a person, who searches for this world and enters the new world of peace. There are many interpretation of the word, Arirang, but I would like to say, the song in general is about rediscovering the meaning of love and peace.

Many of the participants were inspired by this performance. They commented that this truly is heaven, because it overcame all differences. One youth group leader said that he has met the advocate of peace and his dream finally came true. I was not able to find a clip to revisit my memory of the performance, but it truly brought peace and harmony in the stadium, where people with differences became one.

The Speech of Mother Teresa, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

"Let us thank God, for this beautiful occasion, where we can all together proclaim the joy of spreading peace, the joy of loving one another, and the joy acknowledging that the poorest of the poor are our brothers and sisters."

This is the opening words of Mother Teresa, a Catholic nun, who devoted her life towards helping those who are helpless. She was a Christian, who believed Jesus Christ as the saviour. However, she also was a person who lived on this earth. Her affiliation with a religion did not stop her to reach out to love people of different religion. This is why she is still respected by many people, even if they do not have the same religion or do not possess the same beliefs as she did. Her example of love shows that peace is not intended for a specific group. It is intended for all and one as a whole. All peace movements must seek to accomplish unity between everyone. The World Peace proposed by Chairman Man Hee Lee does not limit to one specific group. As Mother Teresa says we celebrate and proclaim the joy of spreading peace all together. It is something that we must work and celebrate all together. As we come close to the First Anniversary of the WARP Summit, which was an event that many different groups participated to work towards peace, we must look back on how we can work together to build a peaceful world and what can we do in our own community.